


Chosen Path

by Lulu___vb



Category: One Piece
Genre: Ace and Luffy are actual siblings, Alternate Universe - Dark, Bigotry & Prejudice, Crimes & Criminals, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Eventual Roronoa Zoro/Vinsmoke Sanji, F/M, Gangs, M/M, Minor Eustass Kid/Jewelry Bonney, Minor Kaya/Usopp, Minor Monkey D. Dragon/Portgas D. Rouge, Minor Sabo/Koala, Poverty, Revolutionary War, Roger and Rouge are siblings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-10
Updated: 2018-07-13
Packaged: 2019-05-20 16:11:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14897798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lulu___vb/pseuds/Lulu___vb
Summary: Monkey D. Luffy was living a double life as both a noble in High Town and a gang leader in Edge Town, where the poverty and violence ruled. With a revolution brewing and his secret on the brink of exposure, how will he achieve his dream without all hell breaking loose?





	1. Prologue

**Chapter One: Prologue**

_The country of Raftel held many kingdoms on the island; the most notable and largest kingdoms were Goa, Dressrosa, and Alabasta. Out of those three kingdoms, Goa was said to be the most beautiful and noblest of them, with Dressrosa following as a close second. However, even though the world perceived the Kingdom with high regard, the Kingdom itself held a dark secret and an even darker law. What most people didn’t know about this particular kingdom was that it was segregated into two parts, High Town where all the nobles lived luxurious and peaceful lives, and then there was the second part, Edge Town where all the poverty stricken, non-nobles lived. Those who lived in Edge Town were seen as scum by the nobles living in High Town, they were so despised and looked down upon that a law had been passed that those from Edge Town were never allowed to set foot in the beautiful and noble High Town._

_Most of the people who lived in Edge Town were starving as there weren't many jobs available to them and without that, the people couldn’t earn money to buy food or other necessities. Most citizens turned to crime as their only means of survival and even then, most people didn’t survive long. With medicine scarcely available and diseases rampant in the outskirts of High Town, most of the people there suffered long and hard. But most people don’t know that about Goa Kingdom, what they know of is High Town, the pride and joy of the World Government. In particular, it was the home of a World Noble, Saint Jalmack, and with that, the World Government built a marine base there with one of the Admirals in charge. This marine base was there to protect the World Noble and the lesser nobles living in High Town; it served in particular to catch the most notorious and dangerous criminals living in Edge Town, or at least that’s what they told their citizens. In reality, they couldn’t care less about those who lived in Edge Town, except for the most notorious gangs there and their leaders._

_On this particular day, the citizens of both High Town and Edge Town were buzzing with excitement and disbelief, the most notorious gang leader, the Pirate King, Gold Roger was to be executed. The only reason that the citizens of Edge Town were allowed to watch was to serve as a warning not to cross the World Government. However, the citizens of Edge Town weren't so much as scared as they wanted to know about the one thing that drove them all, the legendary treasure. The One Piece. It was said that this treasure would serve as a beacon to freedom, or at least that was the rumor of that treasure. The only person who actually knew about it was about to be executed. Gang members and nobles alike gathered for this one event that would change history and inspire those around the world._

**x~Chosen Path~x**

Rouge frowned as she hurried to The Plaza; it was there that they kept the execution platform where they would execute her brother. When she first heard about the execution, she couldn’t believe it! Why would Roger ever turn himself in, only to be executed? He loved life and adventure, when they were little, they would always joke about forming a gang of their own. However, that dream didn’t come to pass, at least not for her. When she was ten and Roger was thirteen, their mother had contracted a disease, and with no medicine available to them, she died. When that day struck, Roger and she had been split up; Rouge had gone to live with her dad, while her brother was left on his own. They were half siblings, sharing a mother, with different fathers. From that day forth, she hadn't seen her brother in person, until today, that is.

As she finally got to the plaza, she bit her lip in distress as she watched the scaffold. It was there that her dearest brother would be taken, just that thought made her heart ache with pain and regret. Roger beat them all; he formed his own gang, the Roger Gang, and journeyed far and wide across both this country and the World to become the ruler of the underworld, the Pirate King. What a title it was, granting power and influence to the person that become the King. However, it only served its purpose in the underworld; the World Government feared that power and sought to destroy it. If only they knew that Roger never wanted any of that, he just wanted to be free, free of this country and free of the hate that ran far and wide in Goa Kingdom.

"Look, it's him, Gold Roger, the King of the Pirates!" Someone shouted to her left, making her look up and widen as the marines dragged him through the path leading up to the scaffold. It was like a dream, seeing him in that state, she couldn’t believe her eyes. He hadn't been tortured in Impel Down, it seemed. No, what really shocked her was the grin on his face as he walked in chains to his death. Gold, fame, power, Gol D. Roger attained this and everything else life had to offer, at that moment he was facing his final moments before death, but he acted like it was his coronation.

"Rouge?!" A male voice to the left of her asked in disbelief, making her stiffen. She didn’t think she would be discovered here, she wasn’t ready to be discovered either. What if they found out who she was? No, she wouldn’t let them find out! Trailing her eyes over to the male next to her, she relaxed once she saw the young face of a red haired man with three scars across his left eye. She recognized him as a member of the Roger Gang, Shanks. She had met him a couple times when he delivered messages to her from her brother, because the older male feared that the marines would somehow find out that she was his sister. "What are you doing here?!"

The strawberry blonde haired woman turned to look at the younger man with a worried look on her face. "I have to be here in his final moments, being his little sister and all. There's absolutely no way that I could let my big brother die without seeing him one last time." She told him sincerely as she felt tears prickling in her eyes as she grieved in her heart for the man walking up to the scaffold. "You feel the same way, right? That’s why you're here too!" This man was a known criminal, it would be far more suspicious of him being here, than just some random pregnant woman being there. Although, she supposed that, because Shanks was from a noble family himself, it was perfectly normal for him to be here. No one from the World Government suspected him at all.

"Well, of course; but its way too dangerous for a woman such as yourself to be here!" He grabbed her arm gently and pulled on it as he looked at her worriedly. She could understand his worry; after all if her lover discovered she was here, he too would be greatly upset by this. Her connection with Roger was a blight to the world, the World Government sought to eliminate his blood line forever to prevent another Pirate King from emerging. Most of the people already knew that as they cheered for this very thing to come to pass. Most people hadn't even met her brother, but they already hated him for just existing, and to an extent they hated her too. "If the marines find out that you're his sister, they wouldn’t hesitate to kill you and the unborn child you're carrying. That is the cruel and sick world we live in." He told her with a dark look on his face, before he sighed and pulled her arm again, with more urgency. "Come, Rouge, we need to get you out of here!"

Before she had a chance to reply, the crowd started yelling up at the scaffold, making both of them look up to Roger, who already sitting at the scaffold with a grin so wide, she couldn’t believe her eyes. "Destiny. Fate. Dreams. As long as there are people seeking freedom in this life, these things shall not vanish from the earth." He began his final words as he looked at the crowd, before focusing on the gang member next to her and on her, making her eyes widen as she listened. "All right, let's get this over with." The executioners prepared their blades, before positioning them right to his chest. This was it, in a couple seconds he would die. However, before they had a chance to execute the man, someone shouted a question towards the King about the One Piece, making her gulp as she looked towards Shanks, then back to her brother. She couldn’t believe that at a time like this, the guy actually had the gull to ask him that. Catching her by surprise, Roger began laughing as hard as possible. "You want my treasure? You can have it; I gathered everything I had in one place, now you just have to find it!" He shouted back, before second later the executioners stabbed him.

Everyone was stunned for a moment as his words rang through the crowd, before the crowd finally grew wild, cheering at his final words. "Rouge, we need to get out of here, now!" The red haired male shouted urgently at her through the noise, before succeeding in pulling her out of there.

**x~Chosen Path~x**

_That special day came to be known as the beginning of the Great Age of Gangs. Gang leaders far and wide gathered their crews and brought them to Edge Town of Goa Kingdom as most believed that the legendary treasure, the One Piece, was located somewhere in this Kingdom or somewhere in the country of Raftel; as Gold Roger was born in Loguetown, a town not far from Goa Kingdom, before moving to Edge Town with his mother. From that day forth, billions of gangs had emerged across the world in search of the One Piece, their dreams to become the Pirate King rang high; and along with that, the marines had become stricter, vowing to catch anyone who even dares to dream about that title. That rang true even more so in Goa Kingdom where the marines had put their foot down and started to catch more and more notorious gang leaders to prevent a repeat of events, monitoring every single person living in Edge Town. It was rumored that they even sent out Cipher Pole to eliminate the residents in that town, as though they could stop what was to come._

**x~Chosen Path~x**

When they arrived in front of the door to her home, she paused she looked at the man who saved her with gratitude in her eyes. "Thank you, Shanks. To be honest, if you weren't there, I would have probably stayed there longer." She gave him a bright smile before giving him a hug in thanks. He was a nice young man and he would surely grow up to become even greater than he was now, she couldn’t wait to see how he would turn out. Noble or not, this man was something else, just like her Dragon, the man she loved very much. "I'm very grateful for your help, won't you come inside? Dragon is the only one in my home right now, I'm sure he would be just as grateful to you as I am." She gestured to the tattered and worn entrance to her home.

Shanks smiled in thanks for the invitation, before he shook his head. "I would honestly love to meet your lover, so thank you for the invitation." He began, before he took off the top hat he wore when he was disguised as the noble man that he was, only to show a straw hat underneath it, it was the exact hat that her brother used to wear. Of course that was long ago, and Shanks had worn it ever since as a Roger Gang member. She had recognized that hat in the newspaper frequently before. "However, I'm going to have to decline. You see, I wanted to watch my Captains execution before I left. But don’t worry, I will be back and when I do, I would love to meet that marine hero's son, Monkey D. Dragon." He chuckled at that as he shook his head as he imagined having a drink with the serious man. "Until then, take good care of yourself and that bundle of joy inside your belly."

Smiling, she nodded as she put her hand on her belly. "I promise to stay safe; you just have to make sure to keep your promise as well, my friend." He chuckled back at her and nodded, before saying goodbye and walking away. Once the teenager left, she turned towards her home and walked inside, biting her lip as she looked at her lovers knowing face. "I'm home." She told him, before running over into his embrace with tears in her eyes. "Roger is dead, he's gone!" She cried to him, pausing when she heard the thunder outside, before the rain poured down heavily, just as her tears did, wetting his shirt in the process.

Dragon held her to his chest as she cried her eyes out and closed his eyes. "I know. The Gods are weeping in despair at the death of their anointed king." He tightened his hold on her and kissed the top of her head as a dark look passed onto his face. "Don't worry, my dear, Rouge; both Goa Kingdom and this world will get what's coming to them. The world we live in now will perish eventually, I'll see to that personally." The woman sniffled in his arms as she heard him speak and leaned more into him as she wept for her brother. It was no secret that Dragon hated the World Government and especially the rulers of this kingdom. Even though he, along with his family, were nobles, this man was ashamed of having noble blood in his veins. "Rouge, my love, you must leave to Foosha Village for now. They're executing every pregnant woman in this country to make sure that Roger's line is exterminated!" He told her as he clenched his jaw tightly and pulled the strawberry blonde haired woman away from him a little too look into her eyes and express the urgency he felt.

Widening her eyes in fear, she furrowed her eyebrows and brought her hand down to her stomach as she felt distress enter her entire being. No! She wouldn’t lose her first baby! That won't happen, she won't let it! "How could they?!  How can they just take innocent life as they please?!" It just wasn’t fair! First her brother, now her child?! No, absolutely not! She will protect him or her with her life. Biting her lip, she looked up at the man she loved and nodded with a sniffle. "I'll leave tonight; just promise me you'll come visit us! Please, Dragon, it's our baby." When she got a nod from the man, she smiled sadly and looked down at his arms. "If it's a girl, I'll name her Ann, and if it's a boy, Ace!"

**x~Chosen Path~x**

Rouge smiled as she looked down at her three year old son as he played on the floor. Four years and three months had passed since she moved to Foosha Village; as promised both Dragon and Shanks had visited her at times. It was also, exactly why she was laying down right now. Back then, she kept her son, Ace, in her womb for twenty months; she had almost died that day when she delivered her beautiful baby boy. But she hadn't, though the doctors warned her that she wouldn’t survive another pregnancy if she were to get pregnant again. But here she was, very pregnant once more and she could feel the contractions as this baby was pushing to be born. "It's time, isn't it doctor?"

The doctor gave her a pitying look, before looking at Garp, who was also very upset, judging by the look on his face. Oh, she knew, they all knew that she wouldn’t make it. She was going to die today and follow her dear brother into heaven while delivering her second baby. It was all a miracle really. Though, she truly wished that Dragon was here to see their baby being born. But she understood that he couldn’t, not because he didn’t want to, but because he couldn’t. After Ace was born, he had founded the Revolutionary Army that was intended to fight the government for all it was worth. "Rouge, if the baby is to survive, we must start now."

-

She smiled once she heard the crying sound of her baby and reached out for the newborn. Upon seeing that it was a boy as well, she giggled and kissed the baby. He was so beautiful, just like Ace was. Though Ace had her freckles, this little one didn’t look like her, but more like his grandpa Garp. She was fine with, just as long as he was healthy and happy that’s all that really mattered. "It's a boy, as well; his name is Monkey D. Luffy." She looked up at the old man staring at her in awe and smiled, before looking down at little Ace. "Ace, my love, come here!" She giggled as she watched him walk over to with a cute expression on his little face. "This is your baby brother; you must protect him for me." She sniffled a little as she felt tears prickle in her eyes. She had to do this, she could feel it, she wouldn’t last long. "Mommy won't be able to be with you boys, not anymore I'm afraid. So, in my stead, take good care of your brother, my little love." She felt the tears sliding down her cheek as she leaned over the bed and kissed Ace's forehead, before looking up at Garp. "Garp, promise me, as well. I want Shanks to be Luffy's godfather and when he comes back, be it days, months, or even years, I want him to take care of my boys as their guardian in my stead. Promise me!"

She couldn’t believe it, but here he was, and what a sight that was. As she felt herself slowly dying, she smiled at the older man. He was crying over her, she didn’t think she would ever get to see that. The marine hero, Garp the Fist, crying over a mere Edge Town wench. She wished Dragon could see this, as well as her brother. They'd be proud of the older man for being different than the other nobles who sneered at people like her. "I promise!" Smiling in relief after he said that, she laid back against the bed and finally gave in as she felt her body shutting down. It was over, but at least her boys will be safe and that was all that mattered. As darkness finally overtook her, the last thing she saw were her boys faces. "Rouge!" And so, Portgas D. Rouge died that day after giving birth to her second son, Monkey D. Luffy, with her first born, Monkey D. Ace watching the tragedy that passed.

_And so, it would only be seventeen years later that the events in Goa Kingdom would unfold that would once again change history and pull the world into chaos once more. Be it for the good or the bad only time would tell…_


	2. The Underworld

**Chapter 2: The Underworld**

_Seventeen years had passed since the Pirate King's execution and in those years, chaos and all its friends ruled the world. It has been said that the Pirate King's death was their undoing, because what followed afterwards was disaster. But as it was, history tended to repeat itself; humans tended to never learn, especially the nobles. The more gangs rose up, the more the nobles wanted them gone, even going so far as to burn the people alive. The most dangerous place to be was Edge Town in Goa Kingdom; there the nobles had plotted many times to eliminate the dirty scum that lived there. Everyone in that town was considered a criminal, a gangster. Even children were looked upon with disgust. Truly, Goa Kingdom was the one kingdom that was leading the extermination of non nobility. Those living in Edge Town who weren't strong enough or smart enough were eliminated quickly. But still, even then gangs kept coming and coming to this kingdom to find the legendary treasure left by the Pirate King._

_Out of those gangs, it was said that three of the four strongest lived in Goa Kingdom, while the fourth was the ruler of their own country. The most powerful gang was the Whitebeard Gang, their leader being Whitebeard himself. They were said to be the closest to reaching the One Piece. The second and third of the four were said to be tied. Was that true? No one actually knew, but no one would ever rise up to challenge these two powerhouses. The Red Haired Gang and the Beast Gang, just one look from them had even the bravest people running. The Red Haired Gang were lead by Red Haired Shanks, a one armed man who was said to be a monster even with one arm. The Beast Gang were lead by Kaido of the Beasts, this man was said to be immortal. Nevertheless, almost no one had ever challenged them. The last strongest gang was the Big Mom gang, lead by Big Mom, Charlotte Linlin. Their base was on Whole Cake Island, a country that Big Mom had taken over._

_These four monsters were called the Yonko. Each of these Yonko have territories all over the world, including in the town of Edge Town. Edge Town is a mostly lawless area, though in the recent decade that has changed; the Yonko have become the protectors of their areas. However, Edge Town had been split into five parts, not four; the last area was known as a completely lawless area, which was where all of the other gangs had their bases. Edge Town was set up like that so that the Yonko wouldn’t be pissed off by the activities of the lesser gangs; in reality almost no gang wanted to fight these beasts. Even the government feared them greatly and would surely think twice about going against them. Though, the question still remained whether the government and marines were willing to stand by and let one of these Yonko become the Pirate King. If not, then would they even have a slim chance of beating them or would destruction be their path?_

**x~Chosen Path~x**

Luffy licked his lips as the delicious aroma flowed into his nostrils and bolted up in bed with drool going down his chin. "Meat!" He cried out as he looked around his room searching for the delicious food that he was sure was there, only to pause in confusion when he saw that he didn’t actually wake up in his own room. "Where am I?" He didn’t remember going out last night, but then again he didn’t really remember a lot of things that he did. Something caught the boy's eye, making him tilt his head and study the object. "Oh, I know!" He remembered as he stared at the photograph of Ace and himself when they little. "This must be Ace's room." He had a nightmare last night and crawled into his big brothers bed out of fear; said big brother of course let him in without a problem. His big brother was such a great guy!

Sitting up, he threw his legs over the edge of the bed and stood up. He was ready to face the day! Well, almost. He looked down and sighed when he saw that he was still in his pajamas. There was no way he could go to Edge Town looking like that! He would probably get mugged or at least threatened there. Shaking his head, he headed off to his own room across the hallway and went straight into his closet. On the left side, there were all these stuffy noble suits and clothes that made him wrinkle his nose in disgust. Those were the clothes that Shanks bought him and made him wear them on occasion. On the other side were the clothes that both Ace and he picked out for their casual wear. Going straight for the right side, he took out a pair of blue shorts with cuffs on them, a white tank top, and a red hoodie. Put the clothes on himself, he nodded in approval as he looked over, before going to his desk and picking up the Straw Hat on it. There's no way he would go out without it, it was his treasure after all. The treasure that Shanks had given to him the first time they met. He put the hat onto his neck like a necklace and tucked it into his hoodie. And lastly, he put on his sandals.

When he was finished, he went straight for the kitchen with a big grin on his face. "Ace, meat!" He yelled at the other make as he sat down at the kitchen table and pounded on it. "I'm so hungry!" He declared as he over at his older sibling. Said sibling just chuckled and shook his head as he continued to cook. The older boy had always taken care of him, especially when Shanks was away; he figured it was probably because of their late mother. But then again, Ace was weird sometimes. He chuckled at that thought as he continued to watch the older man. "Ne, when do you think Shanks is going to be back? He's been gone for a whole month now!" He complained as thoughts of his godfather flew into his mind. Ever since they met, the redhead had always gone on his "business" trips, though he would be gone for more than one month. He was the main caretaker for the two brothers, though Garp did stop by once in a while, especially when Shanks was away. But still, Luffy missed him a great deal.

Ace listened to his brother as he continued to make Luffy his omelet, it had everything the boy had wanted inside it. It was filled with different meats that both Shanks and their grandpa brought home after they went to the market. He didn’t know when it started exactly, but Luffy… he was his most important person in the world and seeing that bright smile on his face was worth everything. And even though he wasn’t his parent, he was hell bent on taking care of the boy no matter what challenges come their way. Luffy was the only real family he had left, besides Pops and his crew. "Here you go, Luffy. A meat omelet, enjoy!" He told his baby brother as he served both plates with their breakfast and sat down across the other boy with a smile on his face.

In reality, they had different dads, not connected by blood of course. Luffy had Shanks, the man who he considered his dad as he didn’t know his true father, and if he had anything to do with it, he never would. Ace on the other hand, he had Edward Newgate, the only man he considered his father. The man was the leader of his gang and the only person who was there when he was questioning even his entire existence. As he ate his omelet, he watched the other boy with furrowed eyebrows, hoping that the other boy wouldn’t catch on. He wondered how Luffy would feel if he found out that Ace was part of a gang, or even Shanks? He truly hoped that he wouldn’t have to find out soon. "Don’t know, but my guess is that he'll be here within a couple days. He'd never leave you alone for too long." Red Haired Shanks, he was a noble by blood, and a leader of a gang by choice. He had made the choice to become a gang leader long ago, even before they were even born and because of that, he had to travel a lot. It was a miracle that the red haired man even stayed for as long as he had. But he loved Luffy, even loved him as a son even if they weren't as close as his brother was to him. Still, Luffy loved him dearly and that’s all that really mattered.

"I hope he comes back soon!" The other boy whined as he continued to eat his food with a pout on his face. He didn’t really understand what was so important that he had to keep leaving them. He loved staying with his brother, but Shanks was important to him, as well. He was his only father figure, the only man that stayed constantly in his life since he was seven, besides his grandpa and Ace. He hoped the older man was alright wherever he was and that he came back as soon as possible. "This food is good!" He licked his lips as he ate the last piece of omelet on his plate, before he looked at his brother's plate and saw that the older boy had also finished his breakfast. He stood up from his chair and grinned as he put his hand on his hips. "Ne, Ace, I'm going to go to Edge Town, are you going to hang out with Sabo today?" Their childhood friend Sabo was like them, he hated the nobles even though he was one himself. He had always loved hanging out with the other man just as much as he loved hanging out with Ace. The three of them had many adventures together when they were young, and even now they hung out together when they weren't busy. It was too bad though, today he already made plans with his crew.

Ace smirked at the younger boy before he stood up and picked up the dishes and forks after them, moving to the sink to wash them after themselves. God knew that Luffy would never do it; he had to clean up after the kid constantly, not that it mattered much really. When he was finished he came over to the other boy and smiled as he patted the other boy's hair. "Don’t worry, when I see him, I'll make sure to let him know that you'll hang out with him next time." Truthfully, they were just going to get some lunch together and talk about things, but other than that he also had to go into Edge Town to meet up with his crew. Ace knew that Luffy had a crew of his own, when they were younger all that kid could ever talk about was becoming King of the Pirates. And even though he planned on making Whitebeard king, he wished the best for the other boy. But still… "Hey, Lu, make sure to stay away from the docks today, alright? I heard that some dangerous gangs were coming in today." These were dangerous times, especially for rookies. He didn’t want the boy getting hurt and causing trouble. There was also his identity he had to worry about; if he was ever discovered to be Monkey D. Luffy, a noble of the Monkey Family and Straw Hat Luffy, the gang leader of the Straw Hat Gang, he didn’t think that even his status as a noble would save him from the same fate that befell their uncle.

"Don't worry, Ace!" The smaller boy smiled brightly, before he turned to go towards their foyer and out the door. He pulled up his hood over his head and hid his noble insignia inside his pockets, knowing full well that this was the only way he would be able to return to his home. The guards would never let him in without it, since all of the residents of Edge Town were prohibited from entering their "paradise". He didn’t understand any of that, though. It was all just so bizarre! Why did it matter if they were nobles or not, it just didn’t make sense to him at all. Shaking his head, he got rid of his thoughts as he raced through the front door and went straight out, almost crashing into Garp who was about to come inside. "Bye, Gramps!" He yelled back at the older man as he continued to run through the town.

"Luffy?!" The old man asked in surprise as he watched his grandson leave and in those clothes, no less. It could only mean one thing. He sighed and shook his head as he went inside to find his other grandson sitting on the couch while lighting a cigarette. He walked over to the boy and sat right next to him as he eyed the two bottles of sake on the table in front of them. He really needed a drink that was for sure. "I wish that you two would have become great marines instead of becoming criminals and endangering yourselves." When that red haired gangster took the boys in, Ace was ten and Luffy was seven, he had sincerely hoped that the man wouldn’t let them become gangsters themselves. He cared about them, just as much as he cared about his son, maybe even more. But what was he to do now, he couldn’t fix the situation no matter how hard he tried. They were both members of notorious gangs, there was no way either of them would be able to become marines. Not unless they died and somehow came back to life. "Did you see Luffy's latest escapades?" He asked as he looked down on the floor.

The black haired male took a deep drag of his cigarette and closed his eyes in thought. "Look, old man, there's no way that either Luffy or I would ever be able to becomes marines. We have the blood of two demons running through our veins, the two biggest criminals in the world." Even if they did want to become marines, they would be executed just like their uncle was. Even their mother was almost put to the death, because they didn’t want Gol D. Roger's bloodline to continue. But it was all for naught, their mother died anyways after giving birth to his brother and all because of those bastards. He blamed them all for her death, especially his father. The man wasn’t even there to see their beautiful, sweet, kind mother die. No, he didn’t care enough to be there, he didn’t even care about them. When he was just a toddler, he had seen the man maybe three times? After Luffy was born, he never saw the man again. He didn’t understand how their mother could love that man at all. Speaking of his precious little brother… "Of course, that boy is something else. He has already earned a bounty of three hundred million beri, I think that calls for a celebration." He smiled at that and eyed the sake sitting on the coffee table in front of him, before picking it up and taking a swig.

Celebration, huh? He guessed that to his grandsons, a bounty was something of a reward. It was too bad that he just didn’t think that way. He was really getting too old for all of this, first his son, now these two. What Ace said about his father and uncle was true, as much as he loathed admitting it. The world had feared another pirate king from emerging, if they ever found out that someone with Roger's blood survived… well, let's just say that Dragon had the right idea of moving Rouge to Foosha Village, he just wished the woman survived the entire ordeal. Child birth was a nasty business for those living in Edge Town or other poverty stricken areas. He didn’t pity her, though. No, he pitied the sons that she left behind. After everything that happened with their family, it was these two boys that have suffered the worst for their family's sins. It was exactly why even though he severely disliked that red haired bastard that he let the man take care of the two. He had seen it with his own eyes, Shanks loved the two boys as if they were his own. He couldn’t have hoped for better and that was something that he would never admit out loud. Shanks was a great father; now if only his own son was, as well. "Ace, I've been meaning to talk to you about your father-" He started, but sighed when he was cut off.

"Don’t ever talk about him again, not in front of me or Luffy." He bit out angrily as he clutched the alcoholic drink in hand. The old man knew how he felt about that man. He was a deadbeat father and a shitty lover to boot. Nothing, but a nuisance with demon blood in his mind. He knew what he was, a revolutionary, someone who was trying to change this world. He called bullshit on that excuse, it was nothing but an excuse that he kept telling himself and others. He wasn’t even there for them, how could he expect to be there for the entire world?! Just the thought was ridiculous! And his grandfather was sitting there, trying to make up whatever excuses that he had out of his ass. Well, that wasn’t going to work. "My only father is Whitebeard and Luffy's is Shanks. And you know that, don’t play around, Old Man." He stood up and grabbed the black hoodie on the couch, before going straight for the door. "That man will never be our father!" He declared as he left, slamming the door shut on his way out.

Garp sighed as he looked up at the ceiling with a troubled and sad look on his face. "What am I going to do with them, ne, Rouge?"

**x~Chosen Path~x**

Walking through the gates of High Town which lead right into Edge Town, it was as though he was walking through a portal. High Town held such a beautiful outward appearance, flowers everywhere. It was truly a paradise that the nobles got to enjoy. On the other side, just as he walked through the gate with his hoodie pulled, it was the complete opposite. The buildings were torn, the ground was littered with trash everywhere, and people were sitting outside, in their torn and old, dirty clothes. Most of them were homeless and hadn't had anything to eat in days, much less hours. He could see their bones sticking out of their skin, the hollowness of their cheeks, and most frighteningly of all, the dead look in their eyes. They knew, all of them knew, that they were going to die and no one was going to help them. It was times like these that he really hated being a noble, because while he got all the luxuries and as much food as he wanted without a worry in the world, these people had absolutely nothing.

Shaking his head to get rid of his thoughts, he pulled down his hood and slipped his straw hat onto his head. There was no need to get upset; he had seen this almost every day, so it was nothing new. Though that didn’t make it right, he couldn’t do anything about it. He couldn’t exactly give these people money or food, because then he'd be found out as a noble; and if that were to happen, it would be all over. His life as Straw Hat Luffy would be finished and he wasn’t ready for that. He made a promise that he would become Pirate King and he intended to keep that promise.

Finally, seeing their hideout, his grin widened as he opened the door and entered inside. "Oi! Nami! Sanji!" He was sure that out of all of his gang members, these two would be there; it was almost guaranteed in fact. Nami lived with her sister Nojiko on Cocoyasi St. which was of course in the lawless area and had seen their own share of problems, because of that. Sanji on the other hand, had lived in the Whitebeard Gang's territory so they fared much better. His adoptive father had even owned The Baratie, a restaurant that had a reputation of being one of the best, even if it was in Edge Town. However, his adoptive father Zeff had always encouraged Sanji to follow his dreams. Licking his lips, he tilted his head when he finally spotted all eight of his gang members sitting around on the couch. "Ne, did you hear? Something exciting is happening at the docks!" His brother confirmed it, some gang was coming there and it wasn’t a small time gang either. It made him so excited to find out which gang was coming!

"Luffy!" The orange haired girl scowled at him and crossed her arms; he could practically feel the anger coming off of her. When he turned to look at the other Straw Hat members, all of them were frowning, not one person was excited as him. It made him pause and tilt his head in confusion at that. Normally, they would get annoyed, but nonetheless would go along with his plans. So, the question still remained, why not? He knew that Ace told him not to go there, but as much as he loved his big brother, the other boy was too overprotective of him sometimes. His crew members weren't supposed to be like that, they were supposed to go along with his ideas as he's the leader of his gang; and besides, what was so bad in going to check out the new gangs that were coming? "You didn’t hear? The marines are stationed at the docks and are ordered to capture any gangs they see."

He blinked in confusion as he looked around at his whole crew. "The marines?!" He couldn’t understand why the marines were even stationed at the docks, it was all so strange! Usually, the marines stayed away from both Edge Town and the docks, it was even more so particular for them to actually get orders to capture any gangs they see. The fact of the matter was that everyone knew, unless you were notorious you were left to die on the streets like a rat. Only the most notorious gangs and gang leaders got the privilege of being captured, then of course being sent to Impel Down, the underwater prison. However, this was a really unusual situation and he could tell that something else was going on; something was wrong, really wrong. And with Ace so worried before, it made him really wonder what was going on exactly? "What's going on, guys?"

Sanji cleared his throat as he sighed and pulled out his cigarette, before looking up and straight into Luffy's eyes. "From what we heard, there are eight gangs coming here, each of them has a leader that's worth more than a one hundred million beri bounty." The other man grimaced as he took a drag of his cigarette and blew out some smoke as he looked back at his leader thoughtfully. "With you and the mosshead over there, that's going to make eleven Supernovas, that's what they're calling you all, you know." Supernovas? Luffy never heard of something like that before and nine other individuals with more than one hundred million beri, not counting Zoro? That was so exciting! He really wanted to meet them! It made him wonder just how strong they were; after all having more than one hundred million beri was a big deal, at least for him. And to have them all on in Goa Kingdom? That was like a dream come true! "Luffy, before you get any ideas, there's more to it than that."

He opened his mouth to completely dismiss the notion of there being something more to it and went to sit down on the couch right next to Usopp. "Don't worry about that! Don't you get it? There are eight more gangs who are just like us!" He grinned happily as he looked at his gang with excitement in his eyes. It made him so happy to know that he's going to have more rivals to find the legendary treasure! Though, in the end he's the one who was going to find it and become the Pirate King! His dream, his complete freedom, he would definitely achieve those things, even if he died trying he would still become Pirate King! His friends worrying about the details of the other Supernovas coming here was just plain annoying. What did it matter if they came here to find the One Piece?! They should have more faith in him that he was going to find it. Giving them an annoyed look, he reached for the chicken leg sitting on the coffee table along with mashed potatoes and some vegetables he didn't care to know about. "So good!" He cried out as he bit into the leg and licked his lips at the blissful taste that came from eating it. Sanji was such a good cook! He even always knew when he would show up so he was always prepared a meal for him. He had such a good crew!

Nami growled at him and gave him a mean glare as she stood up, though before she could start yelling at him, Robin intervened between them. She cleared her throat and turned to look at her captain with a grave expression on her face. "Captain, I'm afraid that what Mr. Cook and Ms. Navigator actually mean is that there's a reason that these crews are coming to Goa Kingdom." The young captain looked up at her with a questioning look on his face and furrowed his eyebrows as he tried to listen to what she was saying. Judging by the look on her face, though it wasn’t good; not in the least. Something was going on and while he wanted to have fun, something told him that this was going to be very bad. And in this kingdom, the bad was always horrific. Taking the meat out of his mouth, he gave frowned and gave her his full attention. "In two weeks time, it will be the twenty fourth anniversary of the Pirate King's death, from what I've heard, Saint Jalmack ordered all of the marines to burn down Edge Town and all of the scum in it." His entire crew looked away from him, all of their expressions were serious and dark, even his own expression had turned serious as he looked at his friends. "The Yonko…they won't take this sitting down. It means there will be war."

Luffy's eyes bulged as he let out a heavy breath and dropped his meat on the ground in shock. "W-what did you just say?!"

**x~Chosen Path~x**

Footsteps echoed on the ground as a figure walked down the dreary hallway, voices could be heard discussing a new development in the making. Even the figure had a dark look on his face as he finally reached the room and crossed his arms. "Oh, good you've already started the meeting."

The leader in the room turned to look at him and gave him a dark smile. "It's so good of you to finally make it. Tell me…what did you find out about Whitebeards plans, Sabo?" The leader turned to look at the figure very carefully, watching him for clues of deceit. "Surely, Whitebeard won't take this new…development lightly. There will be war, I can almost guarantee it."

**Author's Note:**

> So, what do you guys think? Should I keep going with the story or not? Please comment below and tell me what you think! Whether I continue with it or not will be all up to you guys, hehe! ^_^


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